Let’s begin from the begin(ning), shall we? It started with Big Brother. Then there was Bigger Brother. And now… Excuse me, phone is ringing.
Did all of this spying on citizens (video below) start with a novel? You know the old saying: life emulates art. (Or is it the other way ’round? Nomatter.) There are times when I can feel the pinch of Winston Smith trying to wake me from this (american’t) dream. He’s usually somewhere above me and no longer played by John Hurt. In fact, in my dream, I don’t know who the person is that is pinching me. Strange, eh.
The Big Brother world probably started with The National Security Act of 1947. With that law, the united mistakes set the pathway that is a self perpetuating slippery slope. The idears behind that law were probably on the minds of the control freaks of government bureaucracy for a long time. (And we know where these freaks have taken us since the 1950s.) Thank goodness there were real creative sorts in this world, i.e. Aldus Huxley and George Orwell, who could see through the gibberish being spewed by the mongers, the paranoid and the schizos once they started licking bureaucratic power. Let’s not forget how easy it has been for those same men to take advantage of The Stupid (Das Volk), easily manipulating them to vote for what is ultimately legislation (and governance in general) that is against their best interests.
There is no denying – as much as I try – there needs to be intelligence services as part of government bureaucracy. But shouldn’t there be a way to show how these services only prove that there really is something to a name? Using the word “intelligent” to name any government bureaucracy is probably the best example of an oxymoron. So is government today actually making good use of intelligence gathering? Or could this self perpetuating slippery slope be used for something else? Can you scream: PROFIT! Indeed(1). When one takes into consideration the direction of the united mistakes government after 9/11, things ought to be heating up in the minds of The Stupid (Das Volk) who have given so much power to ideologues and pocket politicians. Indeed(2). That whole inalienable rights thing seems to have long since been booted out the door and replaced by the need for profit or hegemony. Nice try founding fathers.
Enter CISPA. The ultimate chip-away of your inalienable rights but great stuff for maintaining the status quo and protecting failed business models. This is iteration number… (you fill in number) of such an attempt to control The Stupid, baby.
The cyber-age, just like the industrial age, is probably a necessary evil. Something had to advance us out of the agra-age – or is it the bronze age? Nomatter. The idear of democracy and a very well thought-out Constitution is supposed to protect The Stupid (Das Volk) so that those evils don’t get the best of us. So far it’s kinda worked – even if you take into consideration all of the legislation post 1947. Which brings me to the question: why is it that the united mistakes keep bringing back these strange bills (see list of external links) that seem to chip away at inalienable rights? I mean, all of this goes above and beyond listening to your phone calls. And that’s the ticket, ain’t it. (Short pause; take a deep breath.)
The thing that so many forget is that the Internet – which is what all these silly bills want to control – really is no different than a telephone call. Obviously you can say and do a lot more with a computer attached to that telephone call but that is another issue. It is an issue for failed business models and failed corporate media managers to deal with – not government bureaucracy. But I have to return to the essence of how this sort of nonsense can keep perpetuating. But I can’t because I don’t feel like writing a book about The Stupid and how they are unable to wake up from their dream-state of consuming their way to heaven. Oh. Ignorance is bliss.
Obviously it would take some effort on the part of participatory democracy and government bureaucracy to figure out the complications of 100+ years of telephone calling and 20+ years of computer technology. It’s just a real shame that those elected to govern can’t figure this out in a way that does not subvert the Constitution.
Yeah, baby. Biggest brother has been listening to your phone calls anyway! Surprise.
Links:
- National Security Act of 1947 – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
- Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
- PROTECT IP Act – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
- Stop Online Piracy Act – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
- Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Rant on.
-Tomas-
worstwriter 